 |
 |
 |
|
Alternative Names: Pyrroluria, Pyrolleuria, Pyrrole Disorder, Elevated Kryptopyrrole, B6 Deficiency.
Pyroluria is a familial disorder which occurs with stress, where an above-average amount of a substance consisting of "kryptopyrroles" circulate in the body. The substance is harmless in itself, but high levels of these pyrrolles systemically bind with B6 and zinc, preventing the use of these essential nutrients in the brain and body.
The root cause is the production of too much "kryptopyrrole" or "hemepyrrole" in the blood. A pyrrole is a chemical substance that is involved in the formation of heme, which makes blood red. Pyrroles bind with B6 and then with zinc, thus depleting these nutrients.
Pyroluria may occur along with other imbalances as seen in some subtypes of schizophrenia such as histapenia (low histamine), histadelia (high histamine), high copper levels or cerebral allergies. It is the primary imbalance for 20% of schizophrenics.
Signs & Symptoms
The symptoms of excess urinary kryptopyrrole first manifest themselves as behavioral abnormalities. Although children tend to be more easily diagnosed than adults, the symptoms are consistent: poor tolerance of physical and emotional stress, mood swings, depression, noise and other tactile sensitivities. Later symptoms can range from severe depression to chronic schizophrenia. Accompanying physical symptoms can include pain, seizures, even complete physical debilitation.
There is a myriad of other symptoms, including severe inner tension, ongoing anxiety, fearfulness, and sometimes episodic anger.
Often sufferers have pale skin that easily burns, eyes that are sensitive to light, white flecks/marks on their nails, and stretch marks on their skin. They tire easily, are anemic, have poor dream recall, prefer not to eat breakfast, notice upper abdominal pain when stressed, and experience a "stitch" in their side if they run. They have a tendency to become loners as they age. Mental symptoms are aggravated when undergoing stress. In fact, pyroluria flares up when the individual is undergoing prolonged stress, such as during a chronic and debilitating illness.
Symptoms also include sweet, fruity breath and body odor, general loss of appetite, motion sickness, problems with sugar metabolism, allergies. Mental phenomena include delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, occasional loss of contact with reality, amnesia spells, and low stress tolerance. The affected person has a tendency to have insight (understand they have mental problems).
Diagnosis & Tests
There is a urine lab test available which measures levels of kryptopyrroles. Any alcoholic, or anyone with symptoms indicating the possibility of this condition should have the lab test done.
Treatment & Prevention
Alcohol use is one way for pyrolurics to shut off their anxiety, feel more sociable, de-stress, and experience a short time when they feel more normal. Without a knowledge of this chemical imbalance, those who try to quit alcohol use must face coexisting with their symptoms. If additional antianxiety support is needed, GABA, tryptophan, chromium and inositol should be considered.
Pyroluria is treated by restoring levels of vitamin B6 and zinc so that this double deficiency is corrected. Supplementation with vitamin B6 until daily dream recall returns (a normal phenomenon) as well as with zinc and manganese needs to be continued daily. With zinc, manganese and vitamin B6 therapy the pyroluric patient may start to respond in 24 hours and certainly some progress is noted within one week.
Prognosis
However, total recovery may take three to four months. The biochemical imbalance and symptoms will usually recur within one to two weeks if the nutritional program is stopped. [Pfeiffer, 1974]
|
|
 |
|
 |
Signs, symptoms & indicators of Pyroluria:
Conditions that suggest Pyroluria: | | | | | Addictions |  Alcohol-related Problems | When anxiety is a factor promoting the consumption of alcohol, Pyroluria should be investigated as a possibility. As many as one-third to one-half of alcoholics have this genetic chemical imbalance. |
|
Circulation |
 Anemia (Uncommon Nutritional)| | Pyrolurics are generally anemic. |
|
Mental |
Anxiety| | Pyroluria is a known biochemical marker for life long anxiety symptoms. According to one alcoholism treatment center, one-third to one-half of alcoholics treated have this marker. High levels of pyrrolles systematically bind to B6 and zinc, preventing the use of these nutrients in the body and brain. The result is a myriad of symptoms, including severe inner tension, ongoing anxiety, poor stress control, fearfulness, and sometimes episodic anger. |
Panic Attacks
Depression |
Nutrients |
Zinc Requirement| | Pyroluria is caused by an overproduction of kryptopyrrole during hemoglobin synthesis, which chemically combines with vitamin B6 and zinc, resulting in their excretion and a deficiency of both of these essential nutrients. |
Vitamin B6 Requirement| | A functional pyridoxine deficiency is common in pyroluria (often seen in alcoholics), due not so much to inadequate intake as impaired conversion to its active form, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, and enhanced degradation. |
|
| | | | |
Risk factors for Pyroluria:
Pyroluria can lead to:
Pyroluria could instead be: | | | | | Mental | Schizophrenia| | Abnormal production of pyrroles and their appearance in the urine of psychotics was first noticed in 1958 during LSD experimentation. Approximately 15-30% of "schizophrenics" have pyroluria. (At least 10% of these also have histamine problems.) |
|
| | | | |
Recommendations and treatments for Pyroluria:
KEY | | Weak or unproven link | | | Strong or generally accepted link |  | | Likely to help |  | | Highly recommended |
GLOSSARY
Abdomen (Abdominal)
That part of the body between the chest and the hips that contains the stomach, intestines, liver, bladder, pancreas and other organs.
Allergy (Allergies)
Hypersensitivity caused by exposure to a particular antigen (allergen), resulting in an increased reactivity to that antigen on subsequent exposure, sometimes with harmful immunologic consequences.
Anxiety
Apprehension of danger, or dread, accompanied by nervous restlessness, tension, increased heart rate, and shortness of breath unrelated to a clearly identifiable stimulus.
Chromium
Chromium is a mineral that becomes a part of the glucose tolerance factor (GTF). Chromium aids in insulin utilization and blood sugar control. By controlling blood sugar, chromium helps prevent the damage caused by glucose, which is called glycation. Chromium helps maintain normal cholesterol levels and improves high-density lipoprotein levels. Chromium is also important in building muscle and reducing obesity.
Chronic (Chronicity)
Usually referring to chronic illness: Illness extending over a long period of time.
Copper
An essential mineral that is a component of several important enzymes in the body and is essential to good health. Copper is found in all body tissues. Copper deficiency leads to a variety of abnormalities, including anemia, skeletal defects, degeneration of the nervous system, reproductive failure, pronounced cardiovascular lesions, elevated blood cholesterol, impaired immunity and defects in the pigmentation and structure of hair. Copper is involved in iron incorporation into hemoglobin. It is also involved with vitamin C in the formation of collagen and the proper functioning in central nervous system. More than a dozen enzymes have been found to contain copper. The best studied are superoxide dismutase (SOD), cytochrome C oxidase, catalase, dopamine hydroxylase, uricase, tryptophan dioxygenase, lecithinase and other monoamine and diamine oxidases.
Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)
An amino acid derivative that is a calming substance. Tranquilizers such as valium and Librium owe their soothing effects to the fact that they stimulate GABA receptors in the brain.
Hallucination (Hallucinations)
A false or distorted perception of objects or events, including sensations of sight, sound, taste, smell or touch, typically accompanied by a powerful belief in their reality.
Heme
The deep red iron-containing hemoglobin found in foods of animal origin.
Hemoglobin
The oxygen-carrying protein of the blood found in red blood cells.
Histamine
A chemical in the body tissues, produced by the breakdown of histidine. It is released in allergic reactions and causes widening of capillaries, decreased blood pressure, increased release of gastric juice, fluid leakage forming itchy skin and hives, and tightening of smooth muscles of the bronchial tube and uterus. Histamine is the chemical that drives the initial acute allergic reaction, causing itching, swelling and congestion.
Inositol
Usually considered part of the vitamin B complex. It is thought that along with choline, inositol is necessary for the formation of lecithin within the body. Involved in calcium mobilization.
Manganese
An essential mineral found in trace amounts in tissues of the body. Adults normally contain an average of 10 to 20mg of manganese in their bodies, most of which is contained in bone, the liver and the kidneys. Manganese is essential to several critical enzymes necessary for energy production, bone and blood formation, nerve function and protein metabolism. It is involved in the metabolism of fats and glucose, the production of cholesterol and it allows the body to use thiamine and Vitamin E. It is also involved in the building and degrading of proteins and nucleic acid, biogenic amine metabolism, which involves the transmitting of nerve impulses.
Metabolism (Metabolic, Metabolize, Metabolizes, Metabolizing)
The chemical processes of living cells in which energy is produced in order to replace and repair tissues and maintain a healthy body. Responsible for the production of energy, biosynthesis of important substances, and degradation of various compounds. Also defined as the sum total of changes in an organism in order to achieve a balance (homeostasis): Catabolic burns up, anabolic stores and builds up; the sum of their work is metabolism.
Pyridoxine
A B-complex vitamin that plays a role as a coenzyme in the breakdown and utilization of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It facilitates the release of glycogen for energy from the liver and muscles. It also participates in the utilization of energy in the brain and nervous tissue and is essential for the regulation of the central nervous system.
Pyroluria
This condition is caused by an overproduction during hemoglobin synthesis of kryptopyrrole, which chemically combines with vitamin B6 and zinc, resulting in their excretion and a severe deficiency of both of these essential nutrients. Most pyroluric individuals never develop
schizophrenia symptoms.
Schizophrenia
Any of a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, and hallucinations, and accompanied in varying degrees by other emotional, behavioral, or intellectual disturbances. Schizophrenia is associated with dopamine imbalances in the brain and defects of the frontal lobe and is caused by genetic, other biological, and psychosocial factors.
Seizure (Seizures)
While there are over 40 types of seizure, most are classed as either partial seizures which occur when the excessive electrical activity in the brain is limited to one area or generalized seizures which occur when the excessive electrical activity in the brain encompasses the entire organ. Although there is a wide range of signs, they mainly include such things as falling to the ground; muscle stiffening; jerking and twitching; loss of consciousness; an empty stare; rapid chewing/blinking/breathing. Usually lasting from between a couple of seconds and several minutes, recovery may be immediate or take up to several days.
Stitch
A sudden sharp pain, usually in the side, that can occur during exercise such as running.
Syndrome
A medical condition characterized by a collection of related symptoms (what the patient feels) and signs (what a doctor can observe or measure).
Tryptophan
Essential amino acid. Natural relaxant and sleep aid due to its precursor role in serotonin (a neurotransmitter) synthesis. Along with tyrosine, it is used in the treatment of addictions.
Vitamin B6 (B6, B-6)
Influences many body functions including regulating blood glucose levels, manufacturing hemoglobin and aiding the utilization of protein, carbohydrates and fats. It also aids in the function of the nervous system.
Zinc
An essential trace mineral. The functions of zinc are enzymatic. There are over 70 metalloenzymes known to require zinc for their functions. The main biochemicals in which zinc has been found to be necessary include: enzymes and enzymatic function, protein synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. Zinc is a constituent of insulin and male reproductive fluid. Zinc is necessary for the proper metabolism of alcohol, to get rid of the lactic acid that builds up in working muscles and to transfer it to the lungs. Zinc is involved in the health of the immune system, assists vitamin A utilization and is involved in the formation of bone and teeth.
Last updated: Nov 14, 2009
|
 |
|
|
